Push Square has pondered the infancy of 3D console graphics during the 32-bit era, and reflected that the ageing process was not always visually kind, especially to PSone launch games. Some early titles like Jumping Flash! hide their pixelated wrinkles behind bright colours and plain models, while others like Battle Arena Toshinden seem creaky with well-worn textures today. Therefore, it feels great to review Ridge Racer Type 4 -- known as R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 in Japan and North America -- because Namco's arcade drift racer has aged wonderfully within the context of the capabilities of the fifth generation, since its European release at the tail end of PSone’s lifespan in 1999.

The December 1998 preview -- during the same month as the Japanese release of R4 -- in Issue 113 of Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine titled 'Something To Finally Kick Gran Turismo's Ass' explained that, "the Ridge Racers have always been about high-speed action rather than technical accuracy. R4 will be no different, but will push the very limits of the PlayStation in terms of graphical presentation. Rumoured to be Namco's last game for Sony’s box (because the system can't be pushed any harder)."

As reinforcement to EGM's point, John Linneman's frankly superlative coverage of old games for DF Retro -- in this case a technical analysis video about Ridge Racer Type 4 on Digital Foundry -- he praises it as one of the best looking racing games on the platform, describing an atmosphere unheard of on the PlayStation. He applauds the pre-rendered introduction movie with mascot Reiko Nagase as being magical in 1999, and commends the game for consistently hitting its target of 30fps.

Note that Linneman also wrote a PlayStation Classic review on Eurogamer, where he described Ridge Racer Type 4 as one of his favourite games out of the 20 titles included, but he was disappointed by the miniature console's jerky emulation of this racer deciphering that, "the frame-time isn't consistent even though we're playing an NTSC game. The frame-times bounce between 16ms, 33ms and 50ms constantly. Even worse, there is actual slowdown on the PS Classic that was not present on original hardware".

Still, Namco has added details to the eight courses in the Real Racing Roots '99 Grand Prix by setting Ridge Racer Type 4 across seasons from May to December in 1999, and the developers have connected the track design's locations together, whether the courses are in Japan or America. For example, if you look at the left side of the circuit layout for the May early-evening, peach sunset-lit Wonderhill course, and then compare it to the November afternoon mint-blue sky setting of the Heaven and Hell track, you'll notice they share a portion of each other's Japanese, Fukuoka circuits. You'll possibly realise the tracks link together subconsciously, starting from when you drive under the cables of the suspension bridge.

This makes the courses more memorable, as does the roadside scenery that relates to Namco's gaming heritage. Consequently, Race 1 of the Final GP is called Phantomile -- named after the excellent PSone 2.5D platformer Klonoa: Door to Phantomile -- and as you race along to a tune called Motor Species with a pulse-rate pumping bass, you'll pass both Pac-Man and Pooka from Dig Dug peering over billboards. The race before this also shares a Yokohama backdrop, but this time the Out of Blue course has a chilled and relaxed vibe thanks to the lovely Lucid Rhythms piano tune as your car powerslides around the ridge of a harbour, past a lighthouse, beneath the gliding seagulls.

All of this atmosphere builds towards Ridge Racer Type 4's eighth and last course -- Shooting Hoops set in Los Angeles -- as Race 4 of the Final GP is set at 11.45pm on New Year’s Eve, in 1999. The announcer declares, "Okay it’s the final lap, keep your cool", and you feel cool drifting through a night-time cityscape, past a helicopter with a spotlight. If you glance upwards you'll see Galaxian playing on the overhead screen, as the vocalist sings "moving to the beat, Ridge Racer" in the song Movin' in Circles. You'll also have refined your driving skills by realising that you don't necessarily need to brake or drift at all around Shooting Hoops' corners, so you can maintain your car's maximum speed.

After a glorious hour it's satisfying when you beat the Grand Prix to put your feet up, and relish the funky end credits tune Ridge Racer (One More Win). You can then celebrate your victory through appreciation of the exquisite electronic dance soundtrack, including the vocals of Kimara Lovelace, and the musical contributions of composers like Hiroshi Okubo. At this point you may well declare your love for this PSone racing game.

The classic Ridge Racer fast arcade-style racing gameplay is intact, even though it's not actually based on a coin-op. Hence, the AI of competing racing teams is still aggressive and they will block you from passing, or side-barge you into tunnel walls. The leaders of the racing pack are particularly eager to stop you from overtaking, but the difficulty curve is gratifyingly balanced. Regardless, your nerves will still build as during the second heat you must finish at least in second place, and in the final round’s last four races you must always finish first.

Fittingly, you can still obstruct your AI rivals by watching your rear view mirror in the internal car view, and drift around them as you master the responsive controls. You can also choose the Grip method of car handling where you reduce speed using the accelerator to time clearing a sharp corner, but most Ridge Racer fans will obviously prefer the Drift method of turning sharply into the curve and setting the tail of the car into a satisfying slide, since it’s synonymous with the series.

If you're playing Ridge Racer Type 4 on the PlayStation Classic then control is confined to the D-pad on the original controllers included with the plug-and-play console. Subsequently, the D-pad steering increases the game's difficulty, because the subtlety that DualShock control provided on the PSone will be missed. This is noticeable considering that both refined analogue stick steering and the vibration function were a promotion point inside the front cover of the box of the PSone game -- alongside the option to use Namco's own neGcon controller.

Although it approximately takes less than one hour to complete all eight courses in the Grand Prix, there is also a different story for each of the four teams, and they are assigned a set difficulty based upon the tuning of their cars. Therefore, say you beat the game with the Normal tuning of Pac Racing Club (PRC) -- and discover why its manager Yazaki is obsessed about the death of an ace driver called Giuliano -- you'll still have three other team stories to play through. You can then try the Hard difficulty of Solvalou, or the Expert tuning of Dig Racing Team (DRT).

There are three main save game points scattered throughout the Grand Prix, although it's advisable to manually save your game straight after you beat the eight tracks to keep any cars or modes that you've unlocked. You can unlock a total of 321 racing vehicles (including a hidden car that is a large Pac-Man on wheels), as well as an Extra Trial mode, and reverse tracks for Time Attack and Vs Battle multiplayer showdowns. The Vs Battle is a basic split-screen one-on-one race on a single course, where you can configure the number of laps and assign up to two computer controlled cars -- which keeps the track from feeling too empty, but doesn't factor into the result of the actual two-player race.

An extra bit of celebratory Champagne cork popping for gamers was the inclusion of a separate Ridge Racer Hi-Spec Demo disc included in Ridge Racer Type 4's game box, which was a fun bonus, with an updated 60fps and gouraud shaded conversion of the original 1993 arcade game. In any case, playing Ridge Racer Type 4 again is a reminder of how great gaming was in 1999. It's the pinnacle of the four Ridge Racer games on PSone, and compares favourably when pitted against the competition of Daytona USA and Sega Rally Championship on the Saturn. Therefore, rekindling memories of arcade racing through an excellent PSone game that has aged as well as Ridge Racer Type 4 may just provide you with a glimpse of feeling R4-ever young.

Conclusion

Namco's developers were adept at squeezing great technical performances out of the 32-bit PlayStation -- especially with late fifth generation games like Tekken 3 -- and in 1999 Ridge Racer Type 4 stayed steadily on track at achieving its 30fps target and slick circuit designs. The atmosphere from course details adds fine-tuning to the graphics, which is boosted by a magnificent dance soundtrack by musicians like Hiroshi Okubo, with extra pizzazz provided by Kimara Lovelace's vocals. The arcade-style gameplay delivered a fun and fast contrast to Gran Turismo's sim racing, and it confidently tail-slid alongside the best Nintendo 64 and SEGA Saturn drift and blue sky racers. As a Namco racing game it holds pole position amongst the four PSone Ridge Racer titles, putting the pedal to the metal en route to Ridge Racer Type 4 becoming a genuine PlayStation classic.

@get2SammyB Great stuff, Sammy! What is especially cool is that I've reviewed two of my favourite PSone games for Push Square now. Both Ridge Racer Type 4 and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night have a guaranteed spot whenever I think of my top 10 PSone list, and as you know I was able to cover SoTN as part of my Castlevania Requiem review. You guys spoil me at Push Square!@KALofKRYPTON Sorry if my point wasn't clear, it could be as a result of my own personal edits. I mainly aimed to discuss how John Linneman had praised the 30fps performance of R4 on DF Retro in the past, but he was disappointed in the performance of the PS Classic version on Eurogamer. As long as it was relevant to explaining about R4's great graphics for a 1998/ 1999 game, I also wanted to give a shout-out to Linneman's excellent technical breakdowns, because I really enjoy his retro coverage.

@themcnoisy I made a note about how amazing The Ride is on the soundtrack, but my review was getting a bit lengthy, so I cut that bit out. The Ride is perfect for the Heaven and Hell course, because the tune shifts between a gruff opening guitar riff to a lighter, and really uplifting part later. I absolutely love building speed in the downhill section of Heaven and Hell while listening to The Ride. Amazing comment, thank you.

Anyhow, I look forward to reading people's thoughts about R4 in the comments section. I'm interested in hearing if the PlayStation Classic includes any of the readers' personal top 10 PSone games, and if R4 is one of their favourites too.

I got my PlayStation Classic yesterday — on its Monday 3rd December 2018 EU release date — but only after submitting my Ridge Racer Type 4 review to Push Square. Last night I compared the image and performance directly between my PAL PS3 running R4 via disc and the PS Classic's NTSC version by pausing the game, and immediately flicking the TV channels between the two consoles.

To start with R4 on PS3 was brighter, with more vivid colours, but I don't know if that’s because PAL originates as a higher resolution standard. For some reason the PS Classic's NTSC image for R4 is very dark in my experience, so I had to turn up the brightness on my TV. In regards to performance, the PS Classic's framerate slightly judders now and then in a way that makes the gameplay seem not quite as smooth as when racing using my PSone PAL disc through my PS3. I noticed this more with graphically busy tracks like the aforementioned Heaven and Hell, and with faster cars.

I’m much better at the game when subtly steering into corners using a DualShock analogue stick, so I wasn't driving as well when confined to the D-pad on the PS Classic too. Perhaps I was just too used to playing it through the PS3 over the last few weeks. It's possible that the differences won't be as noticeable to other gamers, but they stood out to me, because I was directly comparing two versions on the fly.

I'm still enjoying the PS Classic, though, and R4 is fun and playable on the mini console. However, I wouldn't want people's only impressions of this game to be from some degree of faltering performance. Younger gamers may wrongly think that PSone games are less bright, slower in the case of PAL versions, or a bit more jittery than how they were first designed if they only experience the PS Classic's emulation.

It's still really good news that R4 is included on the PS Classic though, because I’ve searched for 'Ridge Racer Type 4' on the EU PS Store, and it's not available to buy for PS3 or PS Vita.

@JamieO Great review as ever. I was a Saturn owner during that generation and never actually had a PS one, I was playing the amazing port of SEGA Rally over on the Saturn at the time. I've since picked up this game on the PS3 / PSP (it must have been removed since, as I own it digitally) and always thought would be good to try the 60Hz version, its a shame the emulation on the classic looks to be effecting the fluidity of the game despite presenting a 60Hz update. I do like this game, and Ridge Racer 7 is still one of my favorites on PS3.
In relation to the 'judder' on the Classic, I believe the PAL PS3 has a 50Hz display mode for PS1 games, so even if the PAL version is running at a slower refresh rate, the frame pacing would be correct, whereas in the digital foundry analysis of the Classic it seems pacing is a bit all over the place, sadly.

Loved RRT4 but my favourite PSONE Ridge Racer has to be Rage Racer despite the art style being a bit dark and gloomy compared to the rest of the series (relatively speaking). As a pure adrenaline rush of nostalgia, it's hard to beat the original and it's one perfect course (not counting reverse etc).

@Ristar24 Thanks mate, I was wondering about this. Also, it's a shame if Ridge Racer Type 4 has been pulled from the EU PS Store for PS3 and PS Vita. Like I said, I couldn't find it to buy and download, but it could be hidden away. The store for both PS3 and Vita is not great to search and navigate nowadays, and shopping on PS3 could really do with a full PSone list. I think R4 may be available on the NA PS Store instead, but I haven't looked into this to confirm it.

@hi_drnick and @gingerfrog I was hoping someone would bring this up, because I've noticed more gamers are saying that one of their favourites in the series is Rage Racer (1996 in Japan and 1997 EU/ NA).

Rage Racer has an interesting career and credits system for updating or buying cars, and as you mention it has a darker tone, with more realistic graphics including a few more grey skies. However, I personally feel that Ridge Racer Type 4 had more impact as a PSone game, and I think R4 made technical leaps in the graphics, too.

Rage Racer was a great game, but I personally adore R4. Everything from R4's May to New Year's Eve 1999 story setting and lighter tone, like the four soap-opera team stories in the Real Racing Roots '99 Grand Prix. The fantastic R4 soundtrack is quintessential Ridge Racer too, plus R4 has a mixture of brighter courses for fans of colourful arcade racing, as well as darker, night-time visuals.

Likewise, R4 has nicer and more colourful presentation in general, with the striking yellow styling of its menus and story sequences. There are eight circuits in R4, but only four courses in Rage Racer, and Rage Racer is single-player only, but R4 has Vs Battle two-player split-screen multiplayer, too.

@JamieO Yes, the Vita at least has a PS1 list, though certain games do not show as available on Vita, but can still be copied from PS3 (such as Resident Evil 2), just to further confuse things! I must play this game in more depth one day, but if I put the PS3 on, I'm more likely to play Ridge Racer 7...

@Futureshark The video you shared interests me, because it opens up a few more questions about the future possibilities of the PS Classic. I'm more of the type of gamer who buys a console, and doesn't really mess around with it. Ever since I moved from a 16-bit Amiga to a Mega Drive in 1990 I've always liked the convenience of a console to plug-in and play, without concerning myself too much about how everything is running in the background. I don't even own a USB keyboard, I'm afraid.

The reason this intrigues me is because I want to see if Sony takes any steps to improve the PS Classic in an official capacity for its retro PlayStation fans. I bought a Neo-Geo X handheld with a docking station a few years ago, and it was not very well received when it launched. To try to correct this error Tommo sold an extra Game-Card with more Neo-Games included on it. Alongside the Game-Card was a Rocket Cable that connected by USB for a firmware update, which improved aspect ratio preferences, audio quality, save options, and the responsiveness of the controls.

I’m just wondering if Sony could take similar action. For example an official update to the PS Classic could improve the emulator's settings for frame-rates, and screen resolutions. It could also add options like changing to display scanlines, rewinding gameplay when you die in a game, a music menu, extra historical information about each title, and perhaps even being able to turn on cheats for bonuses such as getting extra lives in a challenging game like Rayman.

I'm not as technically minded as gamers like the Digital Foundry crew, but if an official PS Classic USB firmware update is technically possible through the controller ports, then Sony could turn this all around to a positive to show that they listen to feedback from the gaming community.

@hi_drnick Great question, but unfortunately I didn't own any special controllers for the original PlayStation. I was a student in the mid-to-late 1990s, so I didn't have any spare money, and the first PlayStation I had access to was a joint purchase in our student house. We did the same thing with the Nintendo 64, and we didn't even buy a GunCon for our PlayStation.

The best part about being a gamer and a student in the 1990s was that most of the people I knew owned a PlayStation in their student house, so there were lots of games to swap, lend and borrow. I ended up buying a SEGA Saturn for myself — which did include a Virtua Gun — and I got my very own PSone a few years later.

It's interesting that Namco advertise the twist controlled steering neGcon inside the EU case for PSone Ridge Racer Type 4, but only mention the Jogcon in the instruction manual.

It's cool that you got to try the Jogcon though, from the pictures I would guess that the Jogcon's steering dial is more practical for a racer than the neGcon's twist steering. Still, going only on photographs, I could be wrong.

@JamieO I was at uni at that time too but fortunately worked part - time in a game shop which gave me access to great discounts and then for Sony which gave me access to some free stuff. Without those options my gaming diet would have been a lot more restricted.

The jogcon was fun and I do recall trying it on some other racers like GT, V-Rally and Total Drivin' and maybe even Ace Combat but I don't think you could correctly configure them so it was just a bit of a gimmick. Good times though.

I explain about Ridge Racer Type 4's lastability in my review by detailing that, "You can unlock a total of 321 racing vehicles (including a hidden car that is a large Pac-Man on wheels), as well as an Extra Trial mode, and reverse tracks for Time Attack and Vs Battle multiplayer showdowns".

** Note that there is also a completely fantastic and quirky tune called Eat 'Em Up!, so that you can race along to a musical homage to Namco's original 1980 arcade Pac-Man. **

However, I should have described it more clearly as there are "reverse tracks for Time Attack, and there is extra replayabilty in the Vs Battle multiplayer showdowns".

The reverse courses are a welcome addition that are available in Time Attack, but you can't play the reverse racetracks in Vs Battle, as far as I’m aware.

I set-up my European PS3 to play my PAL PSone disc for this R4 review, and I played a lot of Vs Battle with my girlfriend — where she preferred the external car view, and I preferred the internal car viewpoint, because it has the rear-view mirror.

I'm conscientious about being accurate when discussing details in my retro reviews, so I wanted to be clearer here by explaining that my understanding is the reverse circuits are not available in R4’s split-screen multiplayer.